July 3rd through July 10th - Mid Season Vacation
Niagara Falls * Cooperstown NY * Rhode Island
Niagara Falls! With the wife visiting and seven days between Mets home games, we decided to get in some vacation time. Instead of staying in New York for the 4th of July, Niagara Falls became our destination to celebrate Independence Day. We exited New York City around 9am for the 7+ hour drive across New York state toward the Buffalo area. We started west on I-80 then turned north on 447 to avoid a traffic snarl. Then up 81 to a real nice New York thruway I-90 that runs west towards Buffalo. Not a bad drive, we saw lots of open space covered in trees and green foliage as far as we could see.
 One of many selfies |
 At the foot of the falls |
 On the Maid of the Mist |
 The American Falls |
We reached Niagara Falls around 5pm and checked into our hotel near the Falls. Still hungry from the drive, an early stop at McDonalds to avoid the previously mentioned traffic snarl did not last until dinner time. The hotel concierge suggested a really nice restaurant, The Red Coach Inn to eat at away from the crowds. Our waiter was a Padres fan from San Diego and provided us with great service & an enjoyable meal. Afterwards we walked the Falls area and tried to find the best place to watch the 3rd of July's fireworks. Only 5 minutes long, the display was not impressive but highlighted the evening.
 Bridal Veil Falls |
 Horseshoe Falls |
The next day we had breakfast delivered to our room. Or at least they were supposed to. After Deb called the desk, they apologized and delivered our order within 20 minutes and did not charge us for the breakfast. Nice start to the day. We tried to get out to the Maid of the Mist boat ride before the lines got too long. We joined the long line around 11:15 and slowly moving in the hot sun, through the Disney like maze, we were on a boat by 12:30. Donning the thin blue plastic raingear, we staked out a spot on the Canadian side of the crowded boat.
 Views from the Maid of the Mist |
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The ride on the Maid of the Mist takes you right up to the face of Horseshoe Falls. The wind whipped water mist does get you wet, the flimsy blue raingear becomes very valuable for a few minutes. It is a pretty awe inspiring view from the boat with 85,000 cfs of water rushing down. Well worth the wait in line.
Afterward we went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, hoping it was not too busy with the growing crowd of visitors. We again got lucky and were given a small table tucked in the back of the bar area. Another great waiter and meal, it was only spoiled by Deb knocking over her glass of water on yours truly. We then went back to the hotel to escape the heat and rest up for the 4th's festivities.
After our nap we went to an outdoor bar and grill still trying to escape the heat of the day. Again we found a nice little spot with great service to hang out at until the 4th fireworks show. Which we were warned was not meant to be spectacular and it lived up to the billing. Deb and I found a good observation spot on one of the walking bridges to Goat Island. This time the fireworks lasted 10 minutes. After all was said and done we decided to visit the casino that was only a few blocks away. It was very nice to have the hotel, food stops, falls, and casino all in a few block radius.
 The river at night |
 A Church and full moon |
The casino was good sized and busy, Deb found a two player Ghostbusters machine like one we had played before in Las Vegas. I wasn't that thrilled to play it but what the heck. After about 10 minutes I had built my $20 to $280! I walked away with $225 and then proceeded to drop half that on a Walking Dead machine we found in the upstairs area. After that and a few free drinks we wandered back to the hotel for the night. We wanted to get some sleep for tomorrow's destination: Cooperstown NY for the Baseball Hall Of Fame.
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